Mary starred in a late-1940s domestic comedy Mary Kay and Johnny, alongside her husband Johnny Stearns, who died in 2001.

The sitcom debuted as a live, 15-minute program on the DuMont Network in 1947. It then moved to NBC, CBS and again to NBC. The sitcom, which was based in New York City, ended as a 30-minute program in 1950.

Mary was born Mary Katherine Jones on October 27, 1925, in Glendale, California. Her father, Walter was an employee at the Bank of America while her mother, Katherine Jones, was a homemaker.